Courant Not at Fault in Foley Scandal

Is the Courant guilty of anti-Catholic bias in its reporting on the Fr. Foley scandal? No. Others disagree, though. Courant reader representative Karen Hunter has been running their letters on her blog:

A Southington reader wrote, "Please cancel the balance of our subscription
to The Courant. Your obvious anti-Catholic bias, evidenced by five days of
headline articles referencing Father Foley, has become too disturbing. You even
included some shameless piling-on by a non-Catholic clergyman and at least one
columnist.

The letters on Hunter's blog raise good points about anti-Catholic bias at the Courant more generally, the amount of attention given to the Foley matter and some aspects of the scandal that were downplayed or ignored. But is that the same thing as saying the Courant is guilty of anti-Catholic bias in its reporting of the Foley scandal?

Again, I have to say no. What is "too disturbing" about the Foley scandal is that the facts reported by the Courant are true--not that the Courant reported it. George Weigel published The Courage to Be Catholic at the height of the scandals that came to light in 2002--and what he said then holds true now:

"[T]he Church owes the press a debt of gratitude. Because of the press,
some sexual predators have been arrested and jailed. Because of the press, the
authorities were able to locate predators like Paul Shanley and former Dallas
priest Rudy Kos before they could do any more damage to young minds and souls;
in both instances, Church leaders had failed to protect either the Church or
society. Because of the press, the Catholic Church has been forced to recognize
that it is in more trouble than its leaders and lay people might have imagined."
Weigel continues, "If God could work through the Assyrians in the Old Testament,
God can certainly work through the New York Times and the Boston Globe today,
whether the Times or the Globe realize what's happening or not."

Again, this is not to excuse those pro-abortion media personalities or pro gay "marriage" legislators who are milking the Foley scandal for all it's worth in order to further whatever axes they have to grind against the Church (see Don Pesci on "undifferentiated condemnation"). The simple fact is that the Courant broke a story that is true. And--to borrow Weigel--if God could work through the Assyrians in the Old Testament, God can certainly work through the Hartford Courant today, whether the Courant--and even some of the Church's well-meaning defenders--realize what's happening or not.